An Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ at Creekwood  

Ready, Aim...

On his final shot in the 50-meter three-position rifle final on Sunday, August 22, 2004, Matt Emmons needed only to get near the bull's eye to win the gold medal.  Focusing on remaining calm, he aimed, fired, and hit the bull's eye!  There was only one problem: Emmons had fired at the wrong target!

Known as a "crossfire,"  Emmons had accidentally fired at the target in lane three while he was shooting in lane two. Had the target been the correct one, Emmons' score would have been an 8.1 – enough to win the gold medal.  Unfortunately, Emmons received a score of zero, which knocked him out of the medal competition to eighth place. 

Emmons, a 23-year-old accounting student from Browns Mills, N.J., explained he usually looks at the number of the target through his viewfinder as a reference point and then lowers his gun to hone in on the target.  "On that shot, I was just worrying about calming myself down and just breaking a good shot, and so I didn't even look at the number,'' he said. “I probably should have. I will from now on.''

Emmons' mishap is disappointing to himself and to those who were cheering for him, but his mistake reminds us of a problem with which each and every one of us struggle – the problem of SIN.

One of the Bible's words for SIN is the Greek word "hamartano" which means to "miss the mark."  It is used in Romans 3:23 to describe mankind's malady: "For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.The bull's eye in this case is the glory of God - but you and I continue to "fall short" or fail to hit the bull's eye, time and time again.  Because of our imperfect aim, we cannot earn the gold medal – or crown of life (2 Timothy 4:8).

However, the GOOD NEWS is that Jesus died on the cross for us so that we might receive forgiveness for our sins – our failure to "hit the bull’s eye."  Thanks to Jesus, we can be victorious through Him (1 Corinthians 15:57) and wear the victor's crown.  The Scriptures describe the crown as an imperishable crown (1 Corinthians 9:25), a crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8), a crown of life (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10), and "the crown of glory that does not fade away" (1 Peter 5:4).

The crown of life is available to those who will - place their trust in Jesus who won the victory for us (Acts 16:31), repent of sin (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), be baptized (immersed) in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38), and continue to follow Him for the rest of their lives (Revelation 2:10).

The "aim" of our lives, therefore, should be to follow Jesus to victory.

Are YOU aiming at the right target?

God bless you!

David A. Sargent, Minister

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

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